体坛英语新闻：Schalke's Uth earns first call up for Germany squad

BERLIN, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Joachim Loew on Friday revealed his 23-man squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League encounters against the Netherlands and France.

The "Mannschaft" gets a new face as Schalke's Mark Uth earned his first Germany call up.

"We have observed Mark for some time now. He is agile, fast and is always a threat in front of the goal. Now we want to get to know him better," Joachim Loew said.

The 27-year-old striker was last season's high-flyer after providing 14 goals and nine assists for Hoffenheim before joining Schalke in the summer.

Frankfurt's Kevin Trapp, Schalke's Sebastian Rudy and Cologne's Jonas Hector return into the team. But Manchester City's Ilkay Guendogan and Freiburg's Nils Petersen will miss the upcoming caps due to injuries.

The Germans will encounter the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Oct. 13 before Loew's men travel to France to face the world champions three days later.

"We have two important games ahead of us and we take them very seriously. The results will be indicative for our performance in the Nations League. We know what atmosphere awaits us in Amsterdam and Paris. There is always a lot of prestige involved," Loew added.

The UEFA Nations League is a new national-team competition, which sees 55 European national teams divided into four leagues. The four group winners of the top-ranked League A qualify for the UEFA Nations League finals in June 2019.

Germany's full squad:

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (FC Barcelona), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Matthias Ginter (Borussia Monchengladbach), Jonas Hector (Cologne), Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich), Thilo Kehrer (Paris St. Germain), Antonio Ruediger (FC Chelsea), Nico Schulz (TSG Hoffenheim), Niklas Sule (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders/Strikers: Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Draxler (Paris St. Germain), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen), Leroy Sane (Manchester City), Mark Uth (Schalke 04), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Sebastian Rudy (Schalke 04), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)